Matthew Wong at Cheim & Read Gallery

Celebrated late painter Matthew Wong escaped a dreary Edmonton winter in 2016 for an extended stay in LA, during which time he produced dozens of atmospheric paintings currently on view at Cheim & Read Gallery in Chelsea.  Light takes over this scene, a blazing celestial orb (is it the sun or reflected light from the moon?) dominating the view from a window.  A solitary, skeletal figure appears to look down at an equally lonesome sailboat below. Titled ‘Nostalgia,’ the painting suggests a look back from the next life.  (On view through Sept 10th).

Matthew Wong, Nostalgia, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches, 2016.

Laurel Sparks at Cheim & Read Gallery

‘Geomantria,’ the title of Lauren Sparks’ show last spring Kate Werble Gallery succinctly introduces the concept of geometry as magic in the Brooklyn painter’s canvases.  In this grid of nine works – part of a three-person group exhibition of abstract painting at Chelsea’s Cheim & Read Gallery, curated by Jack Pierson – Sparks plots out six points with relationships that shift according to the ash, papier mache, glitter, yarn and other materials she applies to woven strips of canvas.  (On view through August 30th).

Laurel Sparks, paintings from ‘STANZA’ and ‘TERCET.’ Materials include: acrylic, poured gesso, paper mache, ash, cut holes, collage, glitter and yarn on woven canvas strips, each 24 x 24 inches, 2018.

Ron Gorchov at Cheim and Read

Pleione, the nymph in Greek mythology who protected sailors, shares a name with this 2016 canvas by Ron Gorchov. Painted on the artist’s signature saddle-stretchers to suggest ancient Greek shields, the colors of each panel range from fleshy to fiery as they reach skyward. (At Cheim & Read through August 25th).

Ron Gorchov, Pleione, oil on linen, 76 x 35 x 9 inches, 2016.

Sean Scully at Cheim & Read Gallery

A stack of imposing, black steel frames by abstract painter Sean Scully fills the atrium-like space of Cheim & Read’s small side gallery – the first piece encountered when entering the show. By contrast, ‘Colored Stacked Frames,’ (seen here) in the furthest gallery radically alters the somber mood of the show, injecting vibrant color into Scully’s normally restrained palette. (In Chelsea through May 20th).

Sean Scully, Colored Stacked Frames, stainless steel with automotive paint, 10 x 8 x 8 feet, 2017.

Lynda Benglis at Cheim and Read

At over fourteen feet high, Lynda Benglis’ towering anthropomorph dominates her show of recent sculpture at Cheim & Read Gallery. Created by squirting spray foam onto chicken wire and casting the result in aluminum, its fragmentary quality makes it appear both imposing and fragile. (In Chelsea through Oct 22nd).

Lynda Benglis, The Fall Caught, aluminum, 170 x 85 x 96 inches, 2016.
Lynda Benglis, The Fall Caught, aluminum, 170 x 85 x 96 inches, 2016.